The Sustainability Innovation Challenge, in partnership with Sobeys Inc., is an exciting competition designed to advance sustainability through dynamic collaboration between students and industry leaders. This challenge seeks to unite innovative thinkers from a variety of academic backgrounds to tackle the pressing sustainability issues faced by Sobeys. Outstanding teams will be recognized and awarded cash prizes along with invaluable resources, including personalized mentorship from industry experts, access to hands-on workshops, state-of-the-art prototyping labs, and opportunities for additional funding. This is a unique chance for your innovative ideas to transform into actionable solutions to help Sobeys tackle the Routing Challenges for their Fleet Electrification.
Event Details:
Prize Pool: $10,000
Location: University of Toronto Mississauga
Website Link: https://icubeutm.ca/sic/
Eligibility Criteria:
- Teams must have 2–5 members, with at least one U of T student or alumni.
- Teams are encouraged to be interdisciplinary, with participants from various fields (e.g. engineering, environmental sciences, business, social sciences, design)
- Solutions should address sustainability challenges in sectors like renewable energy, waste management, sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, or water conservation.
- Participants must be prepared to invest time and effort throughout the competition.
- Teams must ensure their solutions do not infringe on existing intellectual property rights
Competition Timeline
- October 15, 2024: Register your team and start receiving updates!
- November 11, 2024: Last day to register for the challenge.
- November 12, 2024: Challenge details will be shared via email with all registered teams.
- November 22, 2024: Last call to submit questions to be answered by Sobeys about the challenge.
- November 29, 2024: Responses to submitted questions will be answered.
- January 14, 2025 (by midnight): Deadline to submit your idea, including a slide deck and one-page proposal.
- February 3, 2025: Five finalists will be selected to deliver a 10-minute pitch based on their submissions to compete for cash prizes and in-kind support to further develop their ideas.
- March 2025: Exceptional teams will be chosen to receive additional resources.